The Recycling Entrepreneur

In This Month's Issue...

1. Announcements and Commentary

2. My "Insider's Secrets" to becoming an expert - in almost anything - on the 'Net

3. Turbocharging your profits using Basic Trading Strategies for scrap precious metals.

4. The rest of the story

5. Coming next month - Precious Metals Confiscation - could it happen Again? How to Market Your Recycling Business locally - Using inexpensive FAX technology

Book Review: To Be Announced

Wrapup: The answer to last month's question

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*** Section 1 ***

COMMENTS AND COMMENTARY
Welcome to the March/April issue of The Recycling Entrepreneur, the monthly newsletter devoted to those interested in the subject of recycling for profit.

Are you a new subscriber to this FREE publication? If so, review the past issues:
http://www.recyclebiz.com/the_recycling_entrepreneur_newsletter.html

Well, another month has flown by. Actually, TWO months have flown by, and you are owed an explanation. I have been overwhelmed the past two months, between home,
business, and the inevitable end of the tax year.

I have learned a lot of lessons, a couple of which I'll share with you, along with some opportunities which will be taking me and my business in new directions.

Bottom line: I will now publish this newsletter 10 times a year - the March and April issues will be combined, as will the December/January. I will, however, send you out special bulletins as I come across time-sensitive information or products which will benefit you in your business activities.

I do not plan on making that a regular occurrence and will limit that to no more than once a month on top of the regular newsletter issue. Back to business...

We here in Utah are experiencing the anticipated post-Olympics letdown. Now that all the excitement is over with, the signs and banners hace come down, the visitors have left, life returns to normal. A good time was had by all and everything went more smoothly than even the most rabid optimists could have expected.

If you were fortunate enough to be able to visit our majestic part of the country as a spectator of the regular games or the Paralympics, we hope you came away with a positive experience. It was our pleasure to be your host.

You are no doubt being advised daily by the media that "The Recession" is over. Hope you are not being lulled into complacency by this propaganda. Every newspaper seems to be screaming in the headlines that everything is great, the stock market is climbing rapidly and consumer spending is strong.

Ok, Scott, what's the problem? Well, from my point of view, it is all a house of cards. Our "recovery" is built on one thing ONLY, and that is DEBT. We have been financing our
lifestyle by borrowing - from our homes, from our credit cards, from our retirement programs - from our future.

As a country (and most other industrialized countries are in the same boat) we have been accumulating debt at a rate which will become unsustainable. Hundreds of billions of equity has evaporated from the stock market, with nary a bit of notice from the press. Sure, the "stock market" has been rebounding, but stocks are still grossly overvalued from a price:equity standpoint. The corporate earnings situation is even more dismal.

Ask yourself, if you are invested in stocks, what a drop from a 10,000 Dow Jones Average to a 2,500 level would do to you financially? Then prepare for that very possibility.

NOW is the best time to get started in recycling, before you see gold, silver, and platinum become even more valuable (and the competition becomes "World-Class").

For up to the minute metals prices, go here: http://www.kitco.com

Remember, this ezine is designed to be support material for "The Recycler's Library". If you are not currently an owner of the manuals, you know where to go

*** Section 2 ***

How to Become An Expert - In Almost ANYTHING - On the 'Net

Since you are currently reading this newsletter online, you might think I am "singing to the choir". However, from the volume of emails I get for further information, I have come
to realize that the Internet is sorely under-used as a research tool.

Many pundits pan the value of the 'Net since the dot-com bomb implosion. Many clergy warn against the evils the "World Wide Web" and the ease with which it can bring some of the most vile filth into our home. And there is certainly truth in both these stances.

However, they are both myopic in the extreme.

To me, what the Internet represents is having the contents of untold numbers of the world's libraries literally at my finger-tips, 24 hours a day. Why is this important?

Although my recycling information is based squarely on my own experience in the field, I unashamedly admit that it is enhanced by my constant searching of the 'Net for new knowledge, opportunities, and tactics to share with my customers.

Inspirational anecdote: In just the past couple of weeks, I've been approached by a neighbor who owns a chain of clock and watch shops. He has approximately 300-400 pounds of silver-oxide watch batteries he is ready to ship to a refiner on the east coast.

Frankly, shipping is a royal pain and waiting for the buyer to receive, sort, and make payment is even worse.

So I got on the Internet, did a search for battery refiners/buyers, and came up with about 10% of the number of refiners I was expecting to find! Sounds like bad news, doesn't it?

Not at all! What have I learned?

First: What I knew all along - what appears as a big deal to you or I is small potatoes to a business owner. He wants to get rid of his scrap with as little work and stress as possible.

Sure, a thousand dollars in profit for a few hours work is, to me, a nice day's income. It is pocket change to him - think of the profits selling 100,000 replacement watch batteries represents to him!

Secondly, he doesn't know if he is getting a good deal from his buyer. He is not in the scrap business - I am. Turns out he is getting a decent price, assuming the buyer is giving him an accurate weight (watch batteries are not ALL silver-oxide, and the mercury and lithium ones must be sorted out). But I think I can do better. So I will make him an offer close to , but not equal to what he is getting after paying shipping and labor, and try to make a deal.

I am going to continue this story later in the newsletter while I return to the main subject: researching, learning, and becoming an expert by using the Internet. But keep reading, because I will reveal later the impact this one conversation with a neighbor may have
on my livelihood.

Would you agree that information is power? I believe that absolutely.

More accurately, information converted into action is what makes money. I am going to tell you how to obtain the knowledge - what you do with it is your responsibility. However, having the knowledge and ability to find out almost anything you need to know enables you to talk confidently and knowledgably with business owners and potential customers.

My "tricks of the trade":

1. Realize that there is an organization or trade group representing nearly any field you wish to know about. Want to find it? I will assume you know the basics of web browsers. Go to http://google.com  and type in your subject, e.g. gold.

Narrow it down by trying gold.org or gold.com . Bookmark any pages or sites you find that look promising. Go to the sites and drill down 'til you see if it is what you're looking for.

2. Once you've found a site that has the potential to provide what you're looking for, follow any links they might have to other similar organizations. Bookmark those as well.

You will frequently find that these trade organizations publish a newsletter and frequently have lists of publications they sell to the public. These can be a goldmine.

Some wil even have links to their members web sites, and this is one of the best resources available to you.

3. Realize that the US government has experts in almost any subject matter. They are available to you at no cost. The government also is one the largest publishers of information available to the consumer - frequently free of charge or at a very reasonable price. Try: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/locators/cgp/  Or get a hold of one of Matthew Lesko's books on government giveaways and programs.

Most libraries and book stores carry them. These government experts are available to the public free of charge - their function is to stimulate business activity, and they can either provide you the information you need or refer you to another industry expert.

4. Looking for a business that manufactures a product or provides a service you need info on? Go to http://www.thomasregister.com and register with them - it's FREE! This can be one of the very best sources of info on companies operating in your field.

Frankly, there have been many books written on Internet research, and I am obviously only scratching the surface. I do hope, however, that I have impressed upon you the importance of being to quickly locate and gather information you may need to know. I will occasionally share some more tips and techniques I use. Let me know if there is anything specific you're looking for and I'll try to assist.

*** Section 3 ***

Turbocharging your profits using Basic Trading Strategies for Scrap Precious Metals.

If you are a faithful reader of James Cook's excellent (and FREE) monthly "Market Update", you will on doubt be convinced of the price manipulation occuring in the silver markets. If you have not availed yourself of this priceless resource, go to: http://www.investmentrarities.com  and GET IT!

An hour or so of reading some of the excellent archived material will tell you more about the whys and wherefores of silver prices and where they are headed than any other resource.

The gist of what I am telling you is that silver is at an almost 3,000 YEAR LOW, adjusted for inflation. This market has been so manipulated by supposedly reputable organizations, including the US government, that it is criminal. Let me repeat that: the government has colluded and looked the other way while the silver commodities have been blatantly manipulated, that it constitutes criminal behavior.

Take this information and learn the basics of the scam called "precious metals leasing" and its implications. Read about how the government has allowed many mines to "sell forward" multiple years' production. Then read about how the Silver Users Organization
acts as an effective cartel.

Their efforts have caused the US government to sell off its (that's yours and my) strategic stockpile of silver over the past few decades.

Look at it this way: When gold prices become start to rise, quasi-governmental banks step in and flood the market with gold bullion.

Why? Because increased gold prices are indicative of inflation. And it is in the government's best interest to try to fool you into thinking that everything is perfect economically. Of course, this tactic is dependent upon the central banks having plenty of gold in reserve.

The day will come when they cannot any longer manipulate the price of gold. Well, that day is ALREADY HERE for silver! No stockpile - no controlling the market. Except through derivatives - like metal leasing. These derivatives, essentially cooking the books (think ENRON) and manipulations will eventually correct themselves.

I was involved in silver recycling during a period when a handful of millionaires were accused of driving the price of silver from $3.50 to OVER $50 in a matter of months. Believe me, it WILL happen again, only those gains (in the early 80's) will be modest the next time around.
 
Of course, the government being the government, the only people who will ever pay for these misdeeds is you and I, the taxpayers.

There is a bright side, however. Knowing that free(?) markets always overcome any attempt at manipulation, the future is fairly predictable. This is nowhere more true than in silver.

You see, silver is probably the one industrial commodity which is absolutely essential to our standard of living. And as Third World countries attempt to advance economically (notably China), there appetite for silver will grow larger and larger.

OK, Scott, what's in it for me? If you are working with any knowledgeable group of customers, (for example dentists) who work with these metals daily and depend upon them in their business, they are acutely aware of how cheap silver is. As a matter of fact, they
probably haven't had anybody wanting to buy their scrap silver for a long time.

It isn't hard to convince them that they should be stockpiling their silver for future appreciation. If you were to put together a small booklet or flyer based upon the information you'll read at James Cook's website (let me now if you're interested in
having me put one together for you), it is not a hard sell.

Wait, Scott, why would I want to convince them to hold on to their silver? Answer: you DON'T. You want them to simply trade their scrap material for a better form of silver. Namely, 90% US "junk silver" coin. Especially if they have gold to sell.

With today's gold:silver ratio, they will get A LOT of silver for their scrap gold.
Furthermore, if you get the information I will make available to you next month, you'll be able to teach them how to multiply their metal holdings by 30% a year - or MORE.

There is a new paradigm you need to absorb here: the goal of precious metals investors is to steadily increase the amount of metals they own. To most of us that means buying more metals.

What you will do is give them the opportunity to acquire more metals (in this case silver) without spending anything.

By teaching them how to trade the gold:silver ratio along with the silver:silver ratio, they can increase their holdings (in terms of ounces owned) dramatically and without risk.

Precious metals investing has been looked down upon for decades because metals are a 'sterile' investment. Actually, nothing could further from the truth - if you remember that the goal of this investment is to increase the amount of gold or silver owned - not to produce income.

From a recycler's standpoint, however, your need is to get them to sell you their scrap. You don't care how many ounces of silver you're trading them for their scrap - you only care that you're making a profit of of each ounce! The rule you NEVER forget is that you're denominating your trades in dollars, not ounces of metal.

One of the beauties of this technique is that position yourself so that you're making profit on BOTH sides of the trade. When you trade a dentist (for example) 5 ounces of gold for US junk silver, you know what the gold is worth in dollars and how much the silver
is worth - what you pay a coin shop for it. You do not try to figure out how many ounces of silver in the coin you're trading, nor what ratio of gold to silver value you're giving.

This is a dollar for dollar transaction from your standpoint.

You tell him you'll either pay him so many dollars for his scrap, or so many dollars worth of silver as a trade. You can sell the silver coin at whatever markup you want that is acceptable to him. This allows you to make a profit on both ends of the trade, and is inherently fair to the customer as long as you're not marking the silver up exorbitantly.

If you see this as a valuable adjunct to the normal buy and sell techniques normally used, you will want to obtain the next step in the process. Stay tuned for the availability of this report in next month's edition.

*** Section 4 ***

The Rest of the Story

In my "Internet Expert" article I related the start of a story regarding my neighbor's silver watch batteries. Let me finish the story, because it illustrates the 'hidden opportunities'
in your community.

I now have the high probability of buying large quantities of scrap watch batteries on an ongoing basis. What I did not say is my friend's company is in a strong expansion mode and is in the process of setting up kiosks in malls throughout the country to sell watches and watch supplies - to the tune of almost 800 locations in the next few years!

Always looking for another opportunity, I asked if they bought scrap precious metals from the public. I knew they didn't, but I wanted to know why. His response was "No, do you think there is an opportunity there? We probably have half dozen calls a day asking if we will buy scrap!"

Well, they currently have over ten stores with about 60 requests a day to buy scrap. Do YOU think I see an opportunity?

I told them I'd be glad to be their exclusive scrap gold (and silver and platinum) buyer and pay them a reasonable percentage of my net profits for their referrals. I told them about the hassles they would face to get set up to do this themselves between training employees,
security, and knowing how to get top dollar for their scrap purchases, and the more they heard, the better my arrangement sounded to them.

So, from a simple conversation regarding some low-value battery scrap, I am standing on the threshold of having a constant feed of scrap precious metals arriving in the mail from up to 800 locations within the next couple of years!

So don't ever believe that there is no opportunity out there. The scrap business is about the least efficient business I've seen from a marketing standpoint. I will tell you what other industries locally I am going to be approaching on a joint-venture or co-op basis in the coming months.

Stay tuned!

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